Hotel Ambassador Pallava on Monthieth Road is hosting one of its four annual food festivals. This time it is a Pahadi Kabab Festival, in its multi-cuisine restaurant " The Other Room ", and will run from 31st March till 9th April. Fans, Connoisseurs and first-time tasters of Mughlai and Afghani cuisine will surely be impressed with the Pallava Chef's culinary efforts.

If one chooses to begin with soup, then the Pudina Goli Shorba (mint flavoured mutton dumpling soup) is highly recommended. The dumplings are certainly tender and the mint adds a tangy sharpness to the taste. Vegetarians will enjoy the Dal Shorba. There are a wide variety of fish, chicken and lamb side dishes to choose from. It is hard to choose from the fish dishes, as all are par excellent - Jhinga Nisha, Tandoori Machli Gulnar and Zafrani Mahi Kabab. The Achari Murg Tikka is very good, so too the Malai Sheek Kabab. For a simple lamb curry, one can select the Rara Gosht with Ajwaini Roti. The Ajwaini seed is known as Omam in Tamil. The vegetarian dishes are appetising too; Aloo Salad is garnished with pomegranate, Gobi Gulistan, Kastoori Paneer Tikka and Paneer Dahi Ke kabab.

The definitive dish of Mughlai cuisine is Biriyani. In Hyderabad it cuts across all social distinctions - from the Nizam to the commoner, all men are equal in their appreciation of it. The mere mention of the word Biriyani is sufficient to make one feel the tingling in the taste buds. Those used to Chettinad Biriyani will be intrigued by the unique taste of the Mughlai preparation. While the Chettinad Biriyani uses a lot of Kalpasi, aniseed, Marathi moogu and sornf, Mughalai Biriyani gets its characterisitic flavour largely from zafran, curds and dry fruits. Pallava's Chef Arun must have been sorely tempted - as all chefs - to come up with a heavily spiced preparation. However, being a cool-tempered young Hyderabadi, he has faithfully observed the traditional proportion of ingredients for Murg Tikka Biriyani, Nawabi Gosht Biriyani and, for vegetarians, Chilman Biriyani and Banasari Pulao. This festival would have been incomplete without this biriyani, and diners must not consider it their duty to their taste buds without partaking of it. With or without a side dish, it is a must!

For a dessert one need only start and end with Khubani Ka Mittha, the delicious stewed apricot sweet. While the Hyderabadi preparation tends to be almost excessively sweet, the Pallava's preparation is much less so. The Khubani Ka Mittha is the numero uno dessert here, but each of the other desserts, Shahi Tukra, Pista Rasamalai, Firdausi Phirni and Nariyali Jamun, is delicious in its own way. To complete the ambience and make it an enjoyable evening, a light music group renders ghazals.

Arun Masilamoni